"Dotcom" bust

[neddy]

No doubt most people have heard about the bust of the German guy "Dotcom" in New Zealand. He ran "Megaupload".

How's this for living lavishly though?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10780514

 

[DavidL]

Wow!!!

But surely he didn't make all that money from the website did he?

 

[neddy]

Wow!!!

But surely he didn't make all that money from the website did he?

Not exactly sure David. But this is another excerpt from NZ Herald (second paragraph is interesting):

Teenagers throughout New Zealand and millions of others around the world were the most likely users of popular file-sharing site Megaupload - but they have a host of alternatives to use after its demise.

Kiwis in particular downloaded copyrighted materials because "Hollywood has made up its mind to give it to us six months or two years late. It isn't available to us quickly, legally or at an economic cost".

"Most teenagers in New Zealand have heard of Megaupload, even though older people haven't, that's where they get their TV shows and movies from," Mr Kumar said.

 

[James]

Megaupload was a pretty big website, I remember it was top 50 websites in the world at one stage..

- 50 million daily users.
- 150 million registered users.

they had a load of advertising/pop ups and other random stuff.
Also I believe they had paid memberships?

I mean think 1 million users paying $20 a month??

Good video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVoM7WPgbxc

"generating over $175m in proceeds from subscriptions and advertising,"

 

[neddy]

Check out the photo in this article. He is a big boy; or the other guys are small.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/6298389/Cop-camera-used-before-Kim-Dotcom-raid-lawyer

Also details how he got residency in NZ. Invested $NZ10m into Government Bonds.

 

[FirstPageResults]

Fascinating stuff, those single file hosting websites are money making machines. I thought megaupload was getting a bit carried away when they got celeb endorsements from the likes of Kanye West & P Diddy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Wvn-9BXVc

To put it in perspective of how big these sites are, a ex acquaintance runs a site with over 2.5 million active users, all using those services - and that's just 1 site!

 

[payattention]

Not defending him or his site but it's concerning that the US gov has arms so long they stretch to NZ. Why do they need SOPA/PIPA if they can already pick up anyone they want?

 

[FirstPageResults]

They only have jurisdiction because MU allegedly used a datcenter in the states AFAIK

 

[James]

They only have jurisdiction because MU allegedly used a datcenter in the states AFAIK

Wasn't the data centers in Hong Kong?

 

[FirstPageResults]

The company is registered in Hong Kong, but not all of the servers are o/s:

Carpathia Hosting (Carpathia.com) is an Internet hosting provider that is headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, which is in the Eastern District of Virginia. Carpathia Hosting has access to datacenters in Ashburn, Virginia; Harrisonburg, Virginia; Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles, California; and Toronto, Canada. The Mega Conspiracy leases approximately 25 petabytes of data storage from Carpathia to store content associated with the Mega Sites. More than 1,000 computer servers in North America are owned and operated by Carpathia Hosting for the benefit of the Mega Conspiracy; more than 525 of these computer servers are currently located in Ashburn, Virginia, which is in the Eastern District of Virginia. Carpathia Hosting continues to provide the Mega Conspiracy with leased computers, Internet hosting, and support services as of the date of this Indictment

http://www.scribd.com/doc/78786408/Mega-Indictment

I see a few other file sharing websites (like FileSonic & FileServe) are getting anxious and going out of there way to prevent and remove copyrighted content and in some cases even cancel the accounts of users who are uploading suspected pirated content..

 

[nina]

This story reads like true 21st Century crime story .. petabytes, Mr.DotCom himself, celebrity involvement, US Government conspiracies.. I love it..

Did you read about his vanity number plates, Stoned, Mafia.. and one more I can't remember but I love reading this story.

Don't know how big a petabyte is but it sounds almighty impressive.

What I didn't know was that he lived in NZ - I didn't know houses were that big over there! You learn something every day.

My life is so bloody boring compared to this guy but I just want to read more about it.

Nina

 

[neddy]

And "Dotcom" has another claim to fame .........

My sons would be so envious.

Kim Dotcom became the world's best player at the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
after racking up 702 hours of game time in a matter of months.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10780708

 

[DavidL]

This story just gets better and better!

#1 out of 15 million players

For Dotcom to have reached that many hours playing he would have had to sit in front of his computer for almost 30 full days and nights or 60 12-hour days playing constantly.

posing on private jets and yachts, some of them accompanied by young women - including one with Kylie Minogue.

 

[Lorenzo]

too bad...he would still not make the cut with this one:

http://www.news.com.au/technology/the-woman-chasing-mr-impossible/story-e6frfro0-1226252571198

 

[James]

too bad...he would still not make the cut with this one:

http://www.news.com.au/technology/the-woman-chasing-mr-impossible/story-e6frfro0-1226252571198

FENGJIE’S HUSBAND MUST BE:
Aged between 25 and 31
About two metres tall (a bit shorter is acceptable)
Must have a master’s degree from Harvard, Yale, Stanford or West Point
Can’t be Asian
Must have a house and car
Can never have been married, and no kids
Intends to rule the world



hahhaha the trippers in the world

 

[djuqa]

He is , was and will always be a CROOK
He has been involved in some pretty dodgy deals for YEARS

 

[neddy]

Dotcom was denied bail, but is appealing to High Court.

However, after reading this, I'm cancelling my Skype account.

He could not discount the scenario suggested by the Crown that Dotcom could take whatever money he could and run to Germany - safe from extradition and away from the "full weight" of the US Government.

The judge's decision contained material prepared by the FBI, from a 2007 Skype conversation, where van der Kolk and Ortmann discuss what Dotcom would do if he was caught.

 

[payattention]

That's the least of concerns when it comes to Skype; they monitor all phone calls as well.

 

[neddy]

That's the least of concerns when it comes to Skype; they monitor all phone calls as well.

Yeah I know - it was a tongue in a cheek comment.

Nothing is safe or sacred anymore. Echelon and all that. I've read too many spy novels.

 

[nina]

FENGJIE’S HUSBAND MUST BE:
Aged between 25 and 31
About two metres tall (a bit shorter is acceptable)
Must have a master’s degree from Harvard, Yale, Stanford or West Point
Can’t be Asian
Must have a house and car
Can never have been married, and no kids
Intends to rule the world



hahhaha the trippers in the world

Dang - I thought of Mini Me.. .but he doesn't have a University Degree.. how about second choice - Dr. Evil.